This invention is directed to a novel integrated kite control bar and controlled tension release safety device for use in kite boarding. More particularly, this invention pertains to an integrated kite control bar and controlled tension release safety device which can be activated by a kite boarder by moving the control bar against a safety release device.
The sport known as kite boarding has developed rapidly in popularity over the past two decades. In one aspect, kite boarding involves a kite boarder who stands on a surf board on water, in reasonably windy conditions, and has a harness fastened around his or her waist and buttocks or chest. A control bar is attached to the harness at the rear end and at the front end it is attached by front and back lines to a kite, which can be any suitable line traction kite. The kite boarder then launches the kite into the air by pulling on the front and back lines so that the wind inflates the kite and pulls the kite boarder and surf board over the surface of the water. If the wind is strong enough, the kite boarder can actually launch himself or herself into the air for a brief period of time. The kite boarder can also perform assorted tricks and maneuvers while being pulled by the kite. Kite boarding can also be performed on land, ice or snow.
High performance kite flying and kite boarding on land/snow/ice/water require in some instances a kite with multiple control lines (two to four, and potentially more) for performance and practical reasons. Use of multiple control lines is required to provide control, stability and the capability to fly kites in weather conditions where control of the leading and/or trailing edges of the kite is desirable and important. These higher performance kites also generally now require the use of a control bar and safety device for line attachments for the kite control and for wrapping lines on as they can approach 50 meters in length. To date, the preferred methods of attaching a safety device have been through wrist to line attachments that are activated when the user releases the control bar and the kite is then held to the user effectively by a single line attached to the kite edge. Releasing all but one line effectively collapses and de-powers the kite. Several existing modifications of this simple principle have been developed, and at least one concept has been patented.
French Patent No. FR 2698847, Legaignoux, published Jun. 10, 1994, discloses a flexible wing line system, comprising supporting and control lines, with control lines which can be located inside hollow supporting lines for most of their length. The lines, especially for a flexible aerodynamic wing in the shape of a section of a sphere, are in the form of two supporting lines for the load, connected to pointed tips of equal length, and a pair of control lines which also support the load and are connected to the wing""s leading or trailing edge at the sides of the wing. In a variant of the design, the lines can incorporate an additional pair of control lines, attached to the opposite edge of the wing to the first pair. The main supporting lines can be hollow, with the control lines located inside them for the greater part of their length, and both the supporting and control lines can be made from a material with a low friction coefficient, preferably of polyethylene. The control lines can be equipped with handles to facilitate their operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,078, Legaignoux et al., issued Nov. 24, 1987, discloses a dual layer light wing, configured like a spherical segment, which is intended to be used in the traction and lift of various loads. The wing includes a leading edge and a trailing edge and an inflatable armature covered by the exterior and interior sheets of the flexible envelope. The surfaces of the wing are configured in the shape of an aircraft wing profile and the edges of the wing curve in two planes. The leading and trailing edges of the wing are oriented to intersect near the tips of the wing, and each of the tips of the wing receives a control rope via an adjusting plate. The control rope is passed through a pulley mounted on a craft to be displaced by a person through a harness. The wing can be used in sliding sports, yachting and gliding.
French Patent No. FR 2762583, Legaignoux, published Oct. 30, 1998, discloses a control system for the angle of incidence and direction of an ellipsoidal sail in the shape of a spherical lune comprising four lines, two at each distal end. One of the two lines is fixed in front of the optimum centering point of the sail and the other line is fixed behind this point. The shape of the sail is modified by displacement of its distal ends into the shape of points relative to the centering point. The leading edge formed by an inflatable spar has a cut out crescent shape at its ends. The control has a reduced number of lines compared with prior versions.
The invention is directed to a kite control bar and safety release device comprising: (a) a kite control bar; (b) a centre line associated with the kite control bar and having a first end and a second end; (c) a safety release device associated with the first end of the centre line on a first side of the control bar; and (d) a hook engaging loop associated with the second end of the centre line, on a side of the control bar opposite to the safety release device, and being linked to the safety release device, the loop being openable when the control bar is impinged against the safety release device at the first end of the centre line.
The safety release device can be linked to the hook engaging loop by a trigger line which passes through the interior of the centre line, which can be hollow, or alternatively, external of the centre line. When the trigger line is pulled by the safety release device being contacted by the control bar, it can activate a release mechanism which enables the hook engaging loop to be opened by being separated at one end from the centre line.
The trigger line, when activated by the safety release device, can unfurl a hook and pile fastener or a snap and pin fastener, which secures a free end of the hook engaging loop, thereby enabling the loop to be opened. Alternatively, the free end of the hook engaging loop can be connected to the second end of the centre line by means of a pin and loop combination. The centre line and the trigger line can be housed in a hollow tube.
The safety release device at the first end of the centre line can be a collar or sphere which can be connected to a first end of the trigger line which can pass through the interior of the hollow centre line.
On a first end of the safety release trigger device, there can be a resistance mechanism that controls the amount of force that is required to activate the release device thereby enabling the user to adjust the force that is required to activate the safety release device. In one aspect, the resistance mechanism can be a plastic tubing that has slits on a part of its sides covered with a flexible tube.
A second end of the trigger line can be secured to the hook and pile fastener which when unfurled by tension applied by the trigger line, can enable the loop to separate at its free end.
A manual release lever can be included with the hook and pile fastener or other fastener to enable the hook and pile or other fastener to be unfurled if it is not activated by tension on the trigger line. The release mechanism can be a tube and pin combination, and the trigger line can pull the tube off the pin and release the pin, thereby enabling the loop to be opened. An adjustable compression or tension device can be included with the tube and pin to adjust the release force.
The adjustable compression or tension device can be a spring or a resilient polymer.
The invention is also directed to a method of releasably securing a kite boarder to a kite which comprises fitting the kite boarder with a harness, the harness being connected to front and back lines of the kite, and a control bar and release safety device being positioned between the harness and the front and back lines of the kite, said control bar and safety release device comprising: (a) a kite control bar; (b) a centre line passing through the kite control bar and having a first end and a second end; (c) a safety release trigger device associated with the first end of the centre line on a first side of the control bar; and (d) a hook engaging loop associated with the second end of the centre line, on a side of the control bar opposite to the safety trigger release device, and being linked to the safety release trigger device, said loop being openable when the control bar is impinged against the safety release device at the first end of the centre line.
The kite boarder can release himself or herself from the front and back lines of the kite by contacting the safety release device with the control bar, thereby enabling the loop to be detached from the harness.